Bally Bet has finally made its long-awaited entry into the New York online sports betting market, timing its entry to coincide with the four-game weekend series fixture between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
The company became the ninth operator to enter the NY state market after uncertainties around the Bally corporate governance structure led to delays. Bally is the last of nine mobile sports betting licence holders to go live in what is seen as a key American gambling market.
Originally, it was intended that Bally’s would launch its foray into the New York market in April 2022, but this was postponed until June 30. The launch date was missed again before Bally’s finally joined the other eight licensees on July 8.
Bally Bet’s Chairman Offered $38 per Share for Bally’s
The delay might also have been partly due to Bally’s chairman Soo Kim offering to purchase remaining shares in the company in a takeover attempt that valued the operator at around $2 billion.
Kim is a managing partner in Bally’s largest shareholder – Standard General LP. Standard General attempted to buy up the remaining shares for $38 a share, a figure that was rejected by Bally’s, with many suspecting that the company found the offer too low.
The delay to the New York launch may have been partly due to Bally’s waiting for what they saw as a better offer to appear. Bally’s moved into the New York market as part of a consortium with BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel.
New York Sees Impressive Growth in First Six Months
The New York mobile sports betting market has seen some impressive growth in the six months since online betting was made legal in the state. From launch until July 3, the eight licensed sportsbooks took $8.6 billion in bets.
That figure means that New York has already surpassed Indiana as the fifth most valuable betting market in the USA, despite Indiana launching two and half years before the Empire State. FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars and BetMGM are the top four operators in terms of revenue generated.
FanDuel tops the list with a 39.7% handle share and 45.8% revenue share, while DraftKings is in second place with a 24.5% handle share and 22.8% revenue share. Caesars made the early running after launch and offered all the operators the most generous sign-up bonus.
However, that generous bonus offer has not prevented it from slipping to third place in the list, with a 20.9% handle share and 21.2% revenue share. BetMGM is in fourth place, while PoinsBet, BetRivers, WynnBET and Resorts World Bet.
Despite the early boom, the New York market is beginning to show signs of slowing down. In June, operators’ receipts were down 16.8% from May, with $1.052 billion in bets being taken. If New York is to climb into fourth place in the USA nationwide betting league of states, then NFL betting beginning soon might give it the push it needs.
